Yes you have 25 years experience but no I'm not going to hire you

I am often asked for advices from friends and family members in the Baby Boomer generation, typically in their 50's and 60's, on advice when searching for a new job. The most common thing I hear is something in the nature of "I have 25 years experience, have interviewed for 10 different jobs that I could do in my sleep, yet cannot land a job anywhere." They are given many reasons for not being offered the position, common phrases that come to mind include "overqualified," "not a company fit," or worst yet you never hear back but know some late-20's candidate was selected for the position. Unfortunately many employers go for the younger candidate because, although they will require ramp-up time and mentoring, they feel they can mold them into a long term investment for the organization.

It can be frustrating but the truth is almost all organizations need people with extensive experience, just in different capacities than you may be used to.

So how do you tap into this market of jobs where employers really are looking for individuals with decades of experience? You need to reinvent yourself and your job search to reflect the job market. When you finished your education you had to reinvent yourself to navigate into the job market right? Well now you are reinventing yourself in a post-career, pre-retirement state of employment. This will take some flexibility and creativity, but considering some different options could land you in a great gig and past the brick wall of the job search.

First of all seriously consider contracting and consulting opportunities even if they are only 3, 6 or 9 months to start. Contracting and consulting jobs are usually for an estimated period of time (temporary) and are for a specific project that must be completed. Why is this a great market for you? Many of these contracts are project based with deadlines that must be met. So do you hire someone young that is going to require ramp up time, mentoring and direction, or someone that can hit the ground running, has a track record of completing projects on time, and that might just be so experienced they could "do the job in their sleep?" Of course you hire the latter! Someone that can come in, be reliable and get the job done.

Just recently I placed a contractor, who is in his mid-60's, for a client that fits this example perfectly. He had worked at a major auto manufacturer for more than 15 years performing compliance and quality assurance and was laid off. My client happens to be a smaller OEM manufacturer for a very similar auto company that needed a Quality Assurance Engineer to get a product out to the market with some tight deadlines. They needed someone that lived and breathed the process and compliance associated with the product launch, not someone that needed to learn the process and hope the compliance is correct. This was a 3 month project and he has been performing so well his manager is already discussing other projects to put him on through 2012 or longer.

Another issue to consider, especially for contracting, is being open to relocation - at least temporarily. Since contracting is typically for a specified period of time this does not mean you have to sell your house and move yourself across the country. You find yourself temporary housing, such as an affordable apartment, and budget this additional expense into the hourly rate you earn. In addition it seems like companies offering the largest amount of contract work are in some excellent metro areas such as San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Austin and New York. Why not pack up your stuff for 6 months, travel to some great destinations and make some good money in the process?

One major change that can give you an edge in the contracting market is to set yourself up on an incorporated basis. This means you create a company, such as an LLC or S-CORP that is essentially just yourself. This can be very desirable for employers because you are officially not a W-2 employee in any capacity. The employer does not need to pay employment taxes, disability insurance or other (of the many) costs associated with employees. They are simply hiring you as a service and just need to cut you a check without all the additional burden. One unknown fact that is that many departments have separate budgets for "employment" and "services". So if a department runs low on employment funds (which is where a lot of companies are trying to save money) they can tap into separate services funds to get the work performed since they are using you as a company, not an employee. This will require you to have decent business skills to make sure you cover your own taxes and really run it as a business, however, if you do decide to temporarily relocate for a project you can write off all your expenses such as housing, flying home now and then, and even food and basic supplies. Just make sure to keep great records and have an excellent tax accountant ready at the end of the year.

So yes, finding a job when you have decades of experience may be a very different experience than it was 20 years ago. You may have to be flexible; you might be searching for a new gig every 3-9 months. You might have to move around geographically. You might even have to start your own one-person company.

Wait one freaking minute.... Technically I'm saying it is possible to work in ever-changing environments with new projects, start your own company, travel around the country and make good money. Why the hell am I waiting 20 years to do this? Oh yes, because I DON'T HAVE 25 YEARS EXPERIENCE!

The specifics of searching for the right contract is a whole other article. Let me know if you want me to write it!